


Static

by mothergoose



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Android AU, Gen, HunterXHunter Big Bang, robot gore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-14 19:57:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7187972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothergoose/pseuds/mothergoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In clash between the natural world and the technologic, Gon Freeces becomes entangled in the desperate escape of a rogue assassin android. The two unlikely allies quickly learn to adapt in a world set out to capture them both. Despite this, they are still children, each with simple goals; Gon wants to protect his home and Killua wants to find his sister and start anew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. LOG 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my submission for the awesome project, the HunterxHunter Big Bang!! It was such a fun fic to work on and got to work with not one but two amazing artists! Check out the artwork that goes along with this fic and all the other beautiful pieces that both flat-san and teacupbun have done!!
> 
> http://flat-san.tumblr.com/tagged/static
> 
> http://teacupbun.tumblr.com/post/145792880634/it-took-a-while-but-i-finished-illustrating-my

There was a knock at the door and Leorio cursed, dropping his half-eaten sandwich on his desk. 

Now, it wasn’t that there was anything wrong with someone knocking on his door. In fact, Leorio loved visitors and patients of all kinds. His office, a clean, little place with his name lacquered on the glass door, was relatively close to the nearest tech hubs. People stopped by at all hours of the day. But only one seemed to have a rather consistent schedule, stopping in usually around 1:15 pm, and only one would knock on his personal door. Resigned to his fate, Leorio pulled himself up from his stiff chair and opened the door with an expectant frown.

“Hello Gon.”

A broad grin beamed from the short child in front him, left arm dangling awkwardly next to him, the right holding a burlap bag. Judging by his dirt streaked shirt and freshly scrubbed cheeks, no doubt from Mito’s vigilance, Leorio would guess that Gon was climbing the cliffsides. Again. 

“Hi Leorio!” 

Leorio sighed, fondness leaking through his stern posture. 

“How many times have I told you to be careful with your reattachments? It looks like you busted the ball joint again. And is that…?” He leaned forward, inspecting Gon’s arm attachment. The tricep plate was dented and warped, wires and tubing exposed, but who knows what else lay underneath. Gon had a knack for damaging his reattachments almost ritually, and they usually came with more dirt or leaves in them than Leorio would expect, let alone like. Lucky for poor Mito, Leorio did not charge his patients for repairs and only asked for donations. Today, Gon’s arm was adorned with something extra special: feathers. Leorio could almost feel his hands trembling with the exertion that came with the delicate repair work of intricate busts. He straightened again and side stepped to allow Gon into his personal office. The boy happily trotted in, settling himself in his usual spot on the window seat. Pulling his briefcase out and flipping up the top, Leorio eyed his charge. “What did you do exactly?”

Gon smiled sheepishly and scratched his cheek. “I fell on an outcrop.”

Leorio stared at him. 

The scratching continued. “That had a bird’s nest on it.”

Leorio dragged his hands down his face. “Gonnn….”

“Sorry!” He shot the technician another innocent smile. Leorio could only sigh and continue his search for the correct tool. Withdrawing a no. 1 Robertson, he eyed the burlap bag that Gon had brought, now set between the boy’s swinging green boots. He licked his lips and began the tedious task of dismantling the metal arm. 

“Did you bring me something good?” He tried to make it as casual as possible.

Gon grinned again, sitting up straighter. “Mito made donuts this morning!”

The technician lit up. He always loved Mito’s donations.  
__________

Upon opening a map, one would be hard pressed to find a place as geographically diverse as the country of Padokea. Between its borders, the country encompassed sprawling, dense jungle, high mountain peaks, and, of course, a rather tropical Southern coastline. More shocking was the extreme levels of culture that fluxed across the country; The Dentora region’s technology heavy cities and structures almost seem to be from another world when compared to the Southern Whale Island preserves. Only a small sect of people lived on the islands due to the limited technology and its status as a wildlife preserve. As such, many people choose instead to vacation in the balmy, but modern, Dolle Harbor, relishing in its quaint houses and downtown areas. 

At least, that’s what it said in all of the travel brochures and textbooks that Killua had read, but today was the first day that he’d really been able to see his home country for all that it is. By himself! He smiled at the thought. Still, he had to focus. Zipping through the countryside without being detected used all his concentration, but he still managed to get a good few glimpses of what he had only heard about. When you weren’t zeroed in on murdering someone, the world was actually rather pretty or at least Killua thought so. 

Without the tracking devices he removed, security would scour all of his files, web searches and more in attempt to find to him. If he had planned correctly, security would have found his digital footprints and would attempt to flag down the airships that he booked heading for Yorknew. Killua hoped that was the case; As it was, he was currently racing in the completely opposite direction, towards Whale Island. Killua was banking on the hope that once he made it to Whale Island, he would have a short amount of time to recover before making his way via ship to Zaban City. After all, the Island was a wildlife preserve; if Zoldyck Inc. wanted to send security there to recover him, they would be hard pressed by the government not to. All in all, he hoped the process would buy him a couple days, at least. If not, well, he’d do what he did best:

Survive.  
__________

Gon licked at his lollipop, relishing in the artificial cherry flavor. Leorio always had a stash on hand for his younger patients, and Gon took it upon himself to confiscate at least three of the sweets every time he visited for a repair. Today, he took only two simply because he had caused Leorio quite a bit of trouble or so the man had said. It had taken Leorio almost 3 hours to dismantle, clean, repair, and reattach the boy’s reattachments, to the amazement and guilt of the child. Still, Gon knew this was not the last time that such a repair would happen and thus he chose not to dwell on the past too much. 

As it was, he was heading towards the docks to take him back to Whale Island, a bag of rice and several fresh vegetables tucked in the burlap sack, when he caught a whiff of something strange on the wind. Gon prided himself on his reliable nose and when something smelled odd, he paid attention. More than once, Mito had affectionately called him her ‘little bloodhound’ and many others could attest to his almost inhuman sense of smell.

Sniffing delicately, he found it difficult to place the scent. The taste of it seemed acrid and coppery, and his teeth seemed to buzz with the force behind it. Wrinkling his nose, Gon frowned. Whatever the smell belonged to, he knew it was not something good. 

The sound of the ferry’s horn pulled him from his thoughts, but not before Gon made a premonition that would change the course of his life; whatever it was, whatever was out there, was coming and coming fast.  
__________

Killua could have screamed in frustration had he been able to. Of all the things he had prepared for, of all the simulations and calculations and equations he had checked and double checked, it was near impossible to make a flawless plan. He knew this; it had been physically hard-wired into his brain. And yet, it was still a bit of surprise that Illumi had found out just what direction he had headed in, and at what speed, and had managed to cut him off. But only a little. After all, what else could he expect from his ‘parent’s’ top assassin model. 

But that didn’t matter now. Huddled in a ditch just a mile off from the targeted city, Killua lamented the loss of the use of his left arm and his damaged motor cortex, all the while keeping his guard up at any sudden movement. 

But even keeping guard was a bit of a farce; there was no way he would be able to defend himself against another Zoldyck android without authorization, much less outright attack them. In his current state, his best bet would be to get into Dolle Harbor and find a technician that would be able to repair him. Even as the thought was generated, his mind supplied the probability of a technician knowing that there was an escaped android on the loose and the likelihood that said technician would even attempt to repair him. The number that flashed in his mind’s eye read “1.347%”. Not even remotely close to a desirable number. Still, it was better than skulking around, avoiding capture in the dense jungle. 

Feet heavy, body struggling to keep up with his damaged mind, Killua dragged himself to his feet and readied himself for his desperate flight.  
__________

At 4:22 am, Leorio received an unusual phone call from Kurapika, just minutes after receiving a notification from the government regarding an escaped android. It was not that a call from Kurapika was unusual of itself; however, the timing of the phone call had caused a wave of cold anxiety to sweep through Leorio’s still sleepy frame. Kurapika knew Leorio’s timezone and his sleep schedule and for the many years that they had been friends, no matter where Kurapika was on the globe, he had called at decent hours. The ringing of his phone had sounded frantic to Leorio’s ears and he almost did not want to answer its cries.

The last time that Leorio had spoken to Kurapika, the young individual had just joined the ranks of a young woman hell-bent on collecting only the finest reattachments from individuals all over the globe. Kurapika, possessing the beautiful Kurta optical enhancers of their region, was a welcome kin to her ranks, making them privy to all manner of confidential knowledge. It was only due to this knowledge, that Kurapika’s call was of the utmost importance, that Leorio had answered the phone with shaking hands. 

There was no greeting, other than a curt “Leorio”. That was at least one constant that Leorio was grateful for. 

“Kurapika! Hey,” Leorio answered as casually as possible. Both he and Kurapika could hear the nervous flutter of his voice, the way his greeting was higher pitched than he would ever allow it. In hindsight, the technician recognized this was probably the reason for his friend’s direct statement.

“There is an android on the loose in your area.”

Leorio remembered mumbling out that, yes, he had received a notification. The whole call, even while in the midst of having it, seemed surreal. It did not help that he had been dreaming about Kurapika, albeit in far more inappropriate ways. So when Kurapika revealed that it was a Zoldyck model android and that it was spotted on the periphery of Dolle Harbor, Leorio nearly hung up, believing the conversation to be nothing more than the crazy machinations of his dreaming mind. 

Instead, with the air of someone who has seen everything and yet still had not seen everything, he could only ask, “What should I do?”  
__________

It had been quite a while since Gon had gotten such a tongue lashing from Mito. One look at his adoptive mother and one might make the mistake of assuming that she was a push-over, a gentle and delicate woman with soft hands warmed with almond cream. But Gon knew. If there was one thing he knew about Mito, it was that she was gentle and delicate, but her hands were rough from labor and her mind was sharp with a no nonsense attitude. And he loved that about her. Except when she gave him such an earful for damaging his reattachments the day before. 

“Honestly Gon!” she would sigh, hands planted firmly on her hips, shoulders squared. 

Now that Gon had been thoroughly flayed by Mito, he found himself towing along two loaves of fresh baked bread and a tuna half his size in order to thoroughly “compensate poor Mr. Leorio!” Gon had been tempted to scale the cliffs again, but he remained faithful to his promise to Mito that he would avoid the cliffs for at least another week or so. Thus it was that on that day Gon managed to placate his wandering spirit by taking the long route through the main square.

In hindsight, Killua would mark the date and meeting as merely a coincidence, but for Gon there was no such thing as coincidence; there was only fate. Fate brought the two together when Gon caught sight of an inconspicuous figure limping very slightly as he crossed through an alley and decided it would be best to help. 

“Hey are you ok?” he asked, reaching out to touch the other boy’s arm, noticing the awkward angle with which he held it. The other boy’s eyes met his as he carefully extracted his arm from Gon’s light grip. It was in that instant that Gon’s mind became aware of two details; one, that a grinding whirring noise emitted from the other boy’s arm, as well as a wire and knut escaping from his sleeve; and two, that his eyes glowed with an inhuman glow, reminiscent of those terrifying blue screens one heard on all tech forums.

The boy barely made out an “I’m fine,” before Gon’s boisterous voice overrode his. “WHOA! You have ocular implants like Kurapika! That’s so cool!” The other child looked increasingly alarmed and quickly pulled Gon off to the side of a building, away from other pedestrians. Another tinkle of small bits trickled from his sleeve and this took Gon’s full attention away from the boy’s eyes. 

“Ah!” he pointed at the dangling arm. From the boy’s uncovered hand, Gon could see grease and oil stains marring his pale skin. “Your arm is damaged!” 

The boy pulled up his sleeve, revealing the guts of his arm, spilling wire and pistons damaged extensively. “It’ll be fine. Thank you though,” he murmured, though his eyes had already begun assessing Gon. Within 3.5 seconds it took him to say the words, Killua’s dorsolateral prefrontal lobe came to the conclusion that, among Gon’s heart rate, pupil dilation, body weight and heat, there was nothing that indicated that the other was nervous or carrying anything dangerous. Not only that, Killua realized that the bare metal arm and legs that the boy had obviously meant that he had reattachments. And with reattachments came technicians.  
__________

There was a knock at the door, and Leorio tensed. Kurapika’s late night phone call had put him on edge all day, his paranoia getting the better of him. Every knock and every ring at his door seemed to shout doom and destruction, and his palms constantly slipped when he went to turn the knob. Even as his digital clock read 1:07 in calm blue lights, thus indicating that this was probably Gon’s daily visit, Leorio couldn’t help but feel dread grip his heart. Kurapika’s information, though useful, rang through his mind as he got up from the worn office chair. _‘Though most of the physical features of the model are rather confidential, we managed to confirm that the android appears as a young boy,’ ___Kurapika had described. _‘Should you encounter it, run. It’s one of their top tier models and there’s a good chance you might get caught in the crossfire of the other models tracking it.’ ___

__Leorio had suppressed a shiver at that. Once upon a time, he had dreamed of seeing a Zoldyck model up close. Those androids were at the peak of cybernetic enhancements; to be able to examine and work on one would be a technician’s dream come true. But now, faced with the very real possibility that a dangerous android was on the loose and was being tailed by equally dangerous models, Leorio could only hope that it changed its course and made for a different city._ _

__As it was, he could only attempt to focus on the present and the present meant Gon. He would be a welcome change from the creeping fear that had plagued Leorio all day. Breathing as deeply as he could, Leorio managed to pull on a semi-normal facade, a strange mix of irritation and affection that only Gon could produce. Wiping his hands on his pants, he opened the door with a mock sigh. “Hello-” Leorio stammered upon seeing that his charge was not alone. “G-gon” he managed to finish with a thin smile._ _

__He barely heard Gon’s cheery greeting. Instead, his eyes were riveted to the boy next to Gon, who in turn was staring with such an intensity that it unnerved the older man. His eyes were...unnatural. As a technician, Leorio could easily tell that the eyes were optical implants, similar to Kurapika’s. But they were a shockingly piercing blue that were far too intense for a normal child. In short, this was not what Leorio’s blood pressure needed on a day like today._ _

__“So?”_ _

__Leorio blinked startled. Gon was staring at him expectantly, obviously done with whatever explanation he had been giving Leorio. With a great deal of effort, the technician shifted his focus to Gon. “I’m sorry, Gon. I zoned out.”_ _

__Gon sighed dramatically and looked set to begin again but the boy beside him stopped him. “Perhaps I should go somewhere else.” The boy said, eyes never leaving Leorio._ _

__Gon made a noise of sadness. “But Killua! Leorio is the best technician I know! I’m sure he can help!” Surprisingly, the boy, Killua, balked at him, his face oddly expressive._ _

__“Idiot! Can’t you tell he’s uncomfortable! Maybe he doesn’t wanna help!” Killua put his hands on his hips, scolding Gon like a mother hen. Leorio blinked rapidly, his mind trying to reconcile the images of a dangerous killer android and the irritated child in front of him. Maybe he wasn’t the android? He watched in confusion as the two started bickering as children do, trying to comprehend what was happening what on earth he should do. Finally, Gon managed to counter Killua, proclaiming loudly that, “Leorio is the best technician I know and he has lollipops! So let him take a look at you.” Meekly, he looked up at Leorio and asked, “If that’s ok with you?”_ _

__“Uh….” the technician said, full of grace._ _

__“Is it true?” Killua was suddenly staring at him again, eyes boring. “Do you have lollipops?”_ _

__Leorio grinned weakly and the boys lit up.  
___________ _

__Killua really should have been a little more wary, but he felt comfortable with Gon and, hey, this Liorio(Leorio?) guy had lollipops! Plus, Gon took so many twisting and turning routes through the city that it would probably throw Illumi off for at least a little while. Killua figured he had at least a day or so before shit hit the fan, so he intended to take advantage of it. His most important goal at the moment was getting his arm and head patched up; it did him no good to look so mangled when he was trying to lay low. And when it came to a fight, a damaged arm would surely mean defeat. Killua was already attempting to formulate an excuse to get Leorio work on his motor cortex, but well. That was a bridge he’d cross when he got there._ _

__“I didn’t know you knew any boys on the island, Gon,” Leorio mused as he disconnected Killua’s arm from his socket. The android took special care to appear as disinterested as possible, closing his eyes and leaning back his chair._ _

__Gon’s voice piped up, cheerily responding, “We just met today! It’s nice cause I’ve never really hung out with anyone my own age before!” Even with his eyes closed, Killua could tell that the technician had tensed up exponentially and the previously warm atmosphere had cooled considerably. The sound of metal against metal was, for a short time, the only sound in the room. From the sound of it, Killua’s mind supplied, the technician was using a 7/32 mm socket wrench. He supposed it might be easier to simply tell Leorio about his predicament, as Gon had suggested, than to sneak about. Settling deeper into the chair, he wondered at what point would Leorio find the tiny Z engraving that was on the very edge of his elbow plate?_ _

__Listening to the sounds of the room, Killua took note of the subtle but definite pause in Leorio’s work, a sure indication that the accursed Z had been found. Gon’s soft humming barely covered the sound of shifting fabric and squeaking pleather as the technician stood and stretched. It took great strength not to snicker at Leorio’s obvious intentions._ _

__“I just remembered! I have to call Mrs. Thompson back before her shift is over.” The slight waver in his voice was unmistakable._ _

__“Please don’t do that Leorio,” Killua said, not bothering to open his eyes. The older man’s footsteps froze._ _

__Gon gasped. “Leorio! Please don’t call anybody! Killua’s a good android!”_ _

__Killua finally opened his eyes and sighed. “Goddammit, Gon. Now you’ve got him all freaked out.”_ _

__It was true. Leorio’s eyes bulged in terror at the boy in the chair, pointing his screwdriver at him like a sword. Killua snorted at the sight. Like that would do any good. With trembling limbs, Leorio managed to cross the room to Gon and shove him behind him. While Leorio might have thought he looked heroic or at least protective, Killua though he honestly looked hilarious with his brown eyes bugging and ‘weapon’ trembling in his hand. “I heard about this! I heard and now he’s here! Gon!” Leorio shrilled, the name breaking in his terror. “Get out of here! I’ll hold him off.”_ _

__Gon peered out from behind Leorio’s waist, gazing up at the technician. “Killua won’t hurt us. He said he’s a Zoldyck android but just wants to get away from his family.”_ _

__Killua furrowed his brow in annoyance, but nodded in agreement. “They’re just pains in the ass, if you ask me.”_ _

__Leorio didn’t look convinced. Not that Killua blamed him. Squaring his shoulders, Leorio asked, in a calmer voice, “You could be lying. You could just be tricking Gon and I into helping you.”_ _

__The android rubbed his cheek with his good hand and hummed in agreement. “I suppose that’s true. But I’m not.” He shrugged._ _

__Gon ducked around Leorio, much to the other’s protest, and ran to his friend’s side. “Besides Leorio, I can tell Killua’s a good person! He said he has dreams.” The seriousness in Gon’s eyes was hard to contest._ _

__It was the second half of his statement that caught Leorio’s attention and finally relaxed him enough to lower his screwdriver. Obviously, as a technician, Leorio knew of the implications and debates surrounding that piece of information. Since the creations of androids and A.I.s, technicians and mechanics have debated fiercely on the existence of the supposed “ghost in the machine”. The idea was relatively simple; while A.I.s and androids had a built in set of commands and personalities, people argued that some of the machines had the ability to evolve and develop the same way a human might. The “ghost in the machine” was thus termed what many called an android's soul. Killua believed it; in a very weird way, as a machine, this would be an existential question and answer that he himself answered. Very neat, in his opinion._ _

__Leorio was obviously intrigued and if Killua had to guess, he believed in the “ghost” too. “Do you?” He asked, tentatively._ _

__Killua raised an eyebrow._ _

__“Dream.”_ _

__The room was very quiet, with Gon watching Leorio’s intense expression as Leorio stared at Killua, who in turn merely stared at the clock on Leorio’s desk. Killua could not explain it; the images that floated through his head in sleep mode were not “normal,” at least by machine standards. When he had first approached his ‘father’ with the idea, Silva had been stunned but not surprised. “Zoldycks are special beings, Kil,” the man had said. “It’s no doubt in my mind that you do dream.” In a weird way, Silva had looked proud, if a little uneasy. Despite this apparent pride, Silva appeared to have taken extra precautions; Killua noticed that he had been watched much more closely after that, especially by the Butlers. Why, he had no idea._ _

__He startled Leorio, softly saying, “Yes.” His eyes did not leave the clock. “They’re all different, but sometimes I see the same things in different ways. I see an enormous tree, far larger than anything in real life.” He narrowed his eyes slightly. “And I see a girl, who’s always happy. I always want to protect her.”_ _

__Killua finally turned to look at Leorio and the technician saw that the android had a weary look about him. “That’s why I ran away. I don’t want to do this anymore, Leorio.” The android smiled at Gon who gave him a thumbs up. “I don’t want to kill anymore.”_ _

__Leorio gaped at him, and reached out for the lip of his desk to steady himself, shuffling himself to flop lifelessly into his chair. He took up Killua’s former watch of the clock, eyes following the ticking of the hands. Gon walked over to him carefully, concern evident on his face. His hands floated above Leorio’s arm. “Leorio? You don’t look so good.” His face light with an idea. “Let me go get you some water!”_ _

__The technician waved at him and shook his head. “No, thank you, Gon…” he trailed, still focusing on the clock. Never, in all the training that he did, all the hours that logged, books read, and people spoken to, had Leorio ever heard of a machine, an android of all things, have this level of sentience. It was unimaginable; machines were built with specific programmes and algorithms that created a series of commands and actions that it could take but. This. This was evolution at its finest. Taking a deep breath, Leorio steeled himself and carefully picked up the 7/32 mm again._ _

__“Leorio?” Gon asked, his brown eyes wide. The technician stood slowly, his knees popping. “Are you going to help Killua?”_ _

__Cracking his knuckles, Leorio just smiled in exasperation and turned his gaze heavenwards, muttering, “How do I get myself into these types of messes?” He rolled his shoulders and shot Gon a soft smile. Gon blinked and then grinned widely back._ _

__Leorio twirled the wrench is his hand and turned to Killua. “Alright, kid. What’cha need done?”  
___________ _

___SCANNING… SCANNING…. SCANNING INCONCLUSIVE. _____

___Illumi shut down the program. They knew that Killua had somehow made it into Dolle Harbor, but their scans were coming up blank. Chances were likely that Killua had managed to keep his electronic signature hidden by diverting whatever was left of his energy reserves but. Well. Illumi was the best android to date in the Zoldyck line and there was a reason for it. Still, it was troubling to think that despite their advanced technology, Illumi could not surpass the very technology that made Zoldyck models so impressive._ _ _

___Even so, Illumi had an idea of what Killua may attempt to do. Naturally, the newer model had memory blockers on his hard drive; all the models did if there was a chance that they might go rogue and Killua, though showing signs of progressing faster than even Illumi, bore the marks of an android unsatisfied with their lot in life. So, provided that Killua managed to find a technician able and willing to fix them, a 1.347% chance, the newer model would seek to remove those memory blockers._ _ _

___All Illumi had to do was wait for them to be remove. After that, it was just a game of cat and mouse.  
___________ _ _

___It was strange being shut down, Killua thought, when not in the Zoldyck research facility. Technically, he shouldn’t even be able to think; and yet here he was, having full on conversations with himself. He hoped Leorio did a good job; his mind was on the line, after all. Gon had convinced him that Leorio was fully capable of repairing his damaged motor cortex and of course Killua believed him. It was strange; Killua had been trained from day one to be wary of every individual that he ever encountered even his ‘family’ members. But all of his sensors and all his initiative functions pointed to the belief that Gon was a good and trustworthy person, something that shouldn’t even be possible. Just another piece of proof that the ghost in the machine exists, Killua mused._ _ _

___Nevertheless, the android hesitantly asked Leorio if he could, possibly, remove the memory blockers on hard drive. Secretly, Killua hoped that, by removing his memory blockers, the identity of that girl would be revealed to him. In his heart, Killua knew that he knew her; he just couldn’t remember it. Perhaps by remembering, he would know what to do next, how to stay one step ahead of Zoldyck Inc._ _ _

___Dully, the android noted a sensor reconnecting to his floating mind. Ah, Killua thought, Leorio must be hooking me back up. It was always a weird feeling; sort of tingly, if he had to describe in human terms. The tingly, fuzzy feeling continued until his optical sensors came back online, the daylight having diminished to a warm orange glow in Leorio’s office. When his auditory sensors restarted, he managed to catch the very tail end of Gon’s question. “...now?”_ _ _

___“In a moment,” Leorio murmured, eyes locked on the screen in front of him. It illuminated his face in a washed out glow, at odds with the cheerful, warm colors of the setting sun. It was a contrast that was oddly comforting to Killua, who’s world revolved around electronics and screens. Gon was leaning over Leorio’s shoulder, reading the code as it scrolled through the blue screen. Every now and again his eyes would dart over to Leorio, licking his lips in anticipation._ _ _

___“Now?”_ _ _

___The technician groaned. “Gon….! I’ll tell you when!” Gon just smiled sheepishly._ _ _

___His optical sensors whirring, Killa watched as the specs rolled through his gaze, updating him on the progress of his reawakening. Looking past the specs, he examined his arm, noting the smooth, grey, metal plating. Leorio caught sight of him looking. Now it was his turn to look a little sheepish. “It’s not as pretty as your other armor, but it’s just as strong. Sorry, I couldn’t find any flesh tones that matched you.” Sniffing slightly, he added, “You’re one pale ass android.”_ _ _

___Killua scowled at that and Leorio grimaced. Still, he flexed his fingers and rotated his elbow. Everything seemed well oiled and properly maintained. Rolling his wrist, Killua whistled at the smoothness of the motion. Gon hadn’t lied; the technician was good._ _ _

___Hand poised over the keys, Leorio fixed the android with a suspicious eye. “What will happen when I finally do this? Remove the blockers.”_ _ _

___Gon butt in. “He’ll get all his memory back. And learn everything Zoldyck Inc. doesn’t want him to know.” He turned to Killua, finger poised to make a point. “Right?”_ _ _

___The android scratched his chin, embarrassment and annoyance bubbling up. Man, this was a rough day. “Well, uh,” he stammered, “in theory.” He settled it with a shrug, offering Leorio and Gon his best smile. Gon returned it brightly; Leorio gaped like a fish._ _ _

___“Ehh?! You don’t know!?”_ _ _

___Killua grew defensive. “That’s the whole point of the blockers, jackass! So I can’t know!”_ _ _

___“And I’m just supposed to trust you? I just met you!”_ _ _

___“Gon just met me and he trusts me!”_ _ _

___“Gon’s an idiot!”_ _ _

___“Hey!” Gon pouted._ _ _

___“Ah!” Leorio faltered and withered. “Sorry, Gon,” he mumbled, the tension bleeding out of him. And just like that, the atmosphere cleared and the argument was over. Killua blinked. Humans were very strange creatures, he couldn’t help but think._ _ _

___There was silence for a few moments, before Gon broke it again, rocking on his heels. “Sooo, now?” He grinned at Leorio. The clock in the next room over chimed 6 o’clock. Leorio sighed._ _ _

___“Now.”_ _ _

___The moment Leorio keyed in the code, he glanced over at Killua one more time, his face awash with worry and fear. “You’re certain you don’t know what will happen?” Killua pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head. Leorio’s hand trembled over the ENTER key. As the last chime rang through the small shop, the android offered the technician this:_ _ _

___“No matter what happens, though, I’ll protect you and Gon. Just like in my dream with the girl.”_ _ _

___Satisfied, Leorio pressed ENTER.  
___________ _ _

___On a bench just about a mile from Leorio’s shop, Illumi stood up and plotted the quickest route to his dear little ‘brother’.  
___________ _ _

___In Zoldyck Inc., a blip sprang up, clear as day, on Milluki’s computer. Grinning like a madman, the Zoldyck set forth the anonymous report to Minister of Padokea and ‘accidently’ released it to the public.  
___________ _ _

___In the beat-up, green leather chair, Killua suddenly jerked to life, just as Leorio’s computer chimed in to a report._ _ _

_____________END LOG 1_ _ _


	2. LOG 2

Gon had to admit, he felt pretty proud of himself for remembering Razor owned his own boat. Greed Island wasn’t terribly far from the mainland, not like Whale Island, but it was far enough that having your own boat made sense. Mentally, he asked Mito’s forgiveness; he knew how she felt about Razor and his rather illegal gambling at Greed Island, but Gon knew that Razor was a good man. Thus, showing up at his house late in the evening, towing with him a terrified technician and a renegade android, with no warning, Gon was not surprised that Razor let them in, no questions asked. He even offered to give Leorio some coffee, the poor man was shaking so badly. Now, watching the dark ocean roll by and seeing the brightly lit city of Dolle Harbor fade into the distance, the boy wondered what they would do next.

After all, they were a ‘they’ now, what with half the government looking for them. 

Leorio’s teeth were chatting a little less now that the shock was finally wearing off. His mug of coffee was still clasped tightly in his hands though, the steam having long dissipated into the air. He sat in a lawn chair close to Killua, eyes scanning the water. 

A thought struck Gon. “Hey.” Killua’s static blue eyes slid over to him. “Why couldn’t he find you before?”

Resting his chin on his hands, Killua looked forward again. “The blocker acted sort of like a safety measure. As long as it was in place, I didn’t know the huge secrets of the Zoldycks, I couldn’t outright attack another Zoldyck android, and I wouldn’t know about the tracker.” He tapped his temple. “If it was there, there was no reason to worry. Without it, they needed to know where I was.” 

Gon crossed his arms and nodded sagely, though he still didn’t totally get what Killua meant. But he supposed that didn’t matter; what mattered was that he, Leorio, and Killua were all safe. His body still sang with the adrenaline that coursed through it not two hours ago; that had been one hell of a flight! The moment Killua’s memory blocker had been removed, Leorio’s phone had exploded with news headlines: HAYWIRE ANDROID SPOTTED IN DOLLE HARBOR. Leorio hadn’t even the chance to open his phone; Killua had gripped his arm tightly and instructed Gon to follow after him. “Why??” Leorio had all but screeched, as the android leapt from the window. 

“Because he’s coming!” was the only explanation that he received, as a green clad blur was spotted on the horizon. The chase was on after that. Gon happily took advantage of the situation, allowing himself to responsibly use the leg enhancements that Leorio had equipped him with a few months ago. Between Killua and himself, they managed to keep a wide berth of the sweeping lights of helicopters, the stationed police forces, and, of course, the ominous green blur that followed in the corner of their eyes. As they dodged and hide, Killua mentioned that the tracker wouldn’t work on Whale Island, what with the islands disruptive frequencies to keep electronics away from the fragile ecosystem. It was then that Gon had remembered Razor and thus brought them to this point. 

After running around so much, dodging the police and the blur (Illumi Killua had clarified), the two humans found it strange to simply be standing on a boat, watching the city fade. Lucky for them, the ocean was calm and there were many other boats out; the police wouldn’t know which one the fugitives were on. Gon smiled at that. A fugitive! He wondered if Ging would be proud of his meddling. Feeling sullen, he wondered how Mito would react to their unexpected guests, but he imagined that she would take it well enough. Mito always knew that Gon did what he felt best; it was a trust like no other. 

Still, that left him puzzled. Tapping his chin, he asked, “What’re we going to do now?”

Unblinking, Killua answered with a question of his own, “What’s this ‘we’ stuff?” 

“You know,” Gon lightly tapped Killua’s show with his own, “you and me!” He grinned broadly, a bright beacon in the ruthless night. 

Killua returned the grin with a smirk, his electric eyes flitting with mischief. “You know, my ‘family’ isn’t very nice.” He gestured with his hand, opening and closing it like a mouth. “‘Killua, don’t fool around with the knives!’ ‘Killua, listen to Dr. Zeno!’” Motioning widely, the android continued, “They’re probably losing their heads trying to find me. Hell, in a couple days, they’ll probably have an order to comb through Whale Island.” He levelled his gaze with Gon again, nose nearly touching the other’s. The stared at each other for a few moments before Killua finally asked, “Are you sure you wanna deal with this shit?”

Despite Killua’s obvious nonchalance to his deadly ‘family’, Gon answered quite seriously, “If they plan on hurting Whale Island, then of course I’ll fight them. This is my home!” 

Killua had trouble controlling himself and in the end he burst into laughter. Gon blinked in confusion before he too broke out, laughing alongside his friend. Wiping an imaginary tear from his eye, Killua chuckled, “Man, you just looked so serious.” Composing himself, the android couldn’t help but shake his head. “You’re so stubborn! It’s no wonder you managed to get me to tell you about my arm.”

His friend smiled. “Aren’t you glad I did though?”

The android thought about all the events of the day, almost disbelieving that it truly had been only one. Yet, it felt comforting, knowing that he wasn’t thinking solely in numbers and statistics any longer. He was bound by no one. He could dream of trees and the girl (Alluka!) without fear of reprogramming. His killing hands could be put to rest. 

He could have said all these things to the first human he felt he could truly trust, but instead he just rolled his eyes and shrugged, grin fixed in place. 

“I guess.”  
____________

The city was ablaze with lights, helicopters circling, and news reports flashing across every screen it could. Most people couldn’t understand why one android was causing such a fuss, but they heeded the warnings anyway. Illumi watched the officers search the streets and guessed correctly that they didn’t know much more than the average civilians. Had Dolle Harbor known that there was one, much less two, Zoldyck android assassins in their midst, they doubted that the search would be this collected. 

It was a shame that Killua had run. While it wounded Illumi deeply that their dear ‘brother’ did not want to return to the ‘family’, indeed spurning it with abject dislike, it was rather amusing to see the humans scurry about searching for the wayward android. Illumi suspected that Milluki had had a hand in this chaos, approving of their ‘brother’s’ method. As it was, Illumi had received instructions from their ‘father’ that Milluki was using all his resources to find Killua. Apparently, Killua’s signature had disappeared on all their monitoring systems, not just Illumi’s. Silva believed that Killua had somehow made it to Whale Island, that little prefecture off the mainland. The island’s system short circuited most electronic signatures, rendering most phones and electronics useless, thus allowing Killua to slip onto the island and off the map. With all the Zoldyck models powered by a small, but powerful thorium reactor, Killua would still be functionable but undetectable. Clever; Illumi had agreed with their ‘father’s’ prediction. 

Still, that left Killua effectively imprisoned on Whale Island. Silva and Kikyo already had the wheels in motion to get an order to comb the nature preserve. A hefty job, but not impossible; Illumi figured in a day or so, Killua would be back at Zoldyck Inc. in no time at all. 

What would be a problem would be dealing with the bystanders. Illumi, in the chase around the city, noted that their younger ‘brother’ had picked up two humans. Whether they were pulled into this mess of their own accord or whether Killua was using them as a means of protection, Illumi did not know. What they did know, however, was that these bystanders were now a liability; who knew what information they had managed to learn from Killua. Silva would want to… speak with them about this incident, Illumi was certain. For now, though, all they could do was keep watch on Whale Island.   
__________

Mito was as a gracious a host as she could be when her guests consisted of that nice technician from town, that hooligan Razor, and an extremely pale child whom Gon claimed was his best friend. The three adults watched the two chatter excitedly between themselves, Gon showing Killua his collection of lures and the photos of all the fish he had ever caught. As she cleared the fine china, the ones she only used when guests came, Mito overheard part of the conversation between the two. 

“...so my mom can blind you with her optical upgrades, so we’ll have to be careful with you! Not that you wouldn’t look cool with optical sensors Gon.” 

She had a pot in her hands, just taken from the table, and had to backtrack, the short click of her sandals stopping abruptly in front of them. Gon beamed up at her and, prompted by her inquiring look, exclaimed, “I’m going to help Killua save his sister!” 

Mito blinked. 

“Excuse me?”

It was already hard enough processing that Gon had indeed brought home a lethal android that the entire city was looking for; that little tidbit had come up once the food had been set and Killua only nibbled on a little, casually stating that “his internal hardware could only process a some food, not a lot.” She was still trying to figure out how on earth her dear, sweet, naive child had gotten so thoroughly mixed up with such a huge mess. And even then, she knew; the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. 

But with this she put her foot down. “You’d better be joking, Gon Freecss,” she said, her voice reinforced with steel. If anything ever happened to Gon, she would never forgive herself. “I don’t need you going off and disappearing like your father.”

Gon fixed her with a serious look, an unusual expression for his usually cheerful face. Gesturing to Killua, he argued, “The island’s in danger, Aunt Mito. I need to do something about it.” Leorio and Razor attempted to be discreet in their interest, while Killua watched the mother and son with fascination. 

Mito stood her ground, pot precariously placed on her hip. “That’s not your place, Gon.” She turned her attention to Killua. “Just because this boy has brought his problems here does not mean you need to fix them.”

Without missing a beat, Killua responded with, “I’m not a boy or a girl. I’m an android.”

Her firmness was thrown for a loop, if only for a moment. “M-my apologies,” she stammered. Killua just shrugged. Gon took the moment to surge to his feet and take the pot from Mito. Placing it back on the table, Gon took her hands. 

“I know you don’t want anything to happen to me,” he spoke, a gentleness there that was reserved only for her. His golden eyes pleading, he urged, “But you’ve always told me to do the right thing. To help people.” He gestured to the android behind him. “Killua was designed to do bad things, but he doesn’t want that anymore. He wants to help and protect people. And he wants to find his sister.” Taking her hands again, he gave them a small shake as if to affirm his words. “Please, Aunt Mito. Please let me do the right thing.”

Mito dropped her gaze to their joined hands, pointedly ignoring Gon’s pleading eyes. Slowly, she rubbed circles in the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. How many times had she seen that same look in Ging’s eyes when he put his mind to something? Gon was a Freecss, same as she. They were stubborn, good people, a family of believers and optimism. She knew that she could say no and that Gon would try and follow her wishes, but in her heart she could see his determination. The world was big; it was only a matter of time before it came to the island and swept Gon away with adventure. Who was she to stop him from doing what he believed to be right?

Raising her eyes, she met Killua’s, the source of all this insanity. His eyes flickered with an inhuman glow, static with electric energy, yet even she could see the genuine very human emotion in them. She didn’t know him, but she knew Gon and trusted his judgement; what mother wouldn’t? 

Addressing him, she asked, “You want to protect people, help them?” 

Killua nodded.

She swallowed. “You’ll protect him?”

“Of course,” he replied softly.

Mito looked back to Gon and smiled sadly. Gon, in turn, smiled back at his guardian, the person he always knew he could come back to. Sighing softly, she squeezed his hands and finally let them go.  
__________

Alluka, Alluka, Alluka. How on earth, Killua thought to himself, could he have ever forgotten his baby sister? His dreams, then, were not dreams at all, but memories of her as he remembered her: soft and welcoming, but no less mischievous and mysterious. When they were first built, the two of them were inseparable, created to be the peak models of the Zoldyck line. Killua’s hardware survived the rigorous programming and submersion tests, but Alluka’s… Alluka’s became corrupted. No one knew how and despite their best efforts, no one knew how to control her. A radical agent, the Zoldyck technicians had called her. No doubt she was locked up in some remote facility somewhere or worse. 

Killua knew better though. While her hardware was different, Alluka wasn’t completely dangerous nor was she unstable and random. In fact, due to their similar assemblage, Killua could easily tap into Alluka’s hardware and help control her abilities. If only he could do so without the rest of the ‘family’ using him to control her. If only both he and Alluka could be free. 

When he first escaped from the Zoldyck facility, Killua hadn’t a clue as to how he wanted to spend his new found freedom. Part of him had wanted to explore; another part simply wanted to be left alone, at peace for once in his existence. Now, sitting in the dark living room of his new friend’s home watching the sky lighten, the android felt a familiar stirring of longing for his ‘sister’. Wherever she was, he wanted to be. It wouldn’t be fair to her to leave her behind. Not again.

He glanced over at the couch where Gon had fallen asleep. His friend had told him that he wanted help him rescue Alluka, but he feared that Gon might not be able to fight against his ‘family’. The Zoldyck’s were not to be trifled with; should they succeed in their plan, Gon would most likely be on the run with them, at least for a time. Killua was willing to protect both him and Alluka. Deep down, he knew that Gon would protect him too. For now, in the dark, he waited and planned, formulating what would need to be known and drawn up. One day is what he estimated that they had before the Zoldycks managed to worm their way past the regulations surrounding Whale Island. In one day, Gon and Killua would be prepared.  
_________

“Ridiculous,” Leorio muttered, pacing up and down the hall. 

The sun had just set after a long day of preparations for Killua and Gon’s flight. Drawn out maps had been examined, courtesy of Killua, and plans had been made as to how they would enter the Zoldyck facility. Surprisingly it was Gon who suggested that they allow themselves to captured willingly. “We could pretend to be trying to get away, but actually lose on purpose!” Gon had exclaimed, much to the chagrin of Mito. A sound judgement in Killua’s opinion, but not the course of action that would work best. Instead, he suggested that he pretend to have had a change of heart. 

“Would that even work?” Leorio had asked, dubious at the claim. 

Killua had nodded and explained that Illumi honestly believed that Killua would eventually see the light and return home, one way or another. It was a sentiment that much of the ‘family’ shared, taking stock in Killua’s extensive loyalty programming. How he knew this was pretty obvious: he would have been on a much tighter leash before this if they didn’t really trust him. The only one who might question his motives was his ‘father,’ Silva. “Let’s hope we don’t run into him! He’s probably kinda mad.”

It was determined that Gon would go to prove that Killua sincerely did not want the secrets of the family to be found out by an outsider. Killua knew that Illumi would personally want to see to it that no one gained information about the Zoldyck family. “What about me? Leorio had asked, ever full of questions. “They saw me with you, didn’t they?”

“That’s right!” Gon had grimaced. He had turned to Killua, “What about him?”

In response, Killua had merely brought up a video that he had taken on the boat ride over to Whale Island depicting Leorio hunched over and staring blankly into his coffee mug. To anyone watching, it would look as though Leorio had frankly lost his mind. He was not amused.

The two decided that they would depart around 9:30, leaving plenty of time to arrive in the town with. Leaving under nightfall would beneficial from too many searching eyes; in this way, Illumi would be able to find them quickly and without question. Mito, uneasy still at the idea of her child undertaking such a dangerous journey, had stuffed his pack with non-perishable foods, a clean set of clothes, and a list of contacts in case he needed them. Killua had discreetly removed the last item, balled it up, and shoved it in his mouth, incinerating it. No need to leave a paper trail for Illumi to find. 

Now, watching Leorio pace, the two sat on the rug in Gon’s living room waiting for the allotted time; Razor had gone to fill his boat with gas down by the pier. 

“What is, Leorio?” Gon finally asked, rocking on his rear end, hands clasping his ankles. Killua flicked his eyes up to the pacing man; this was sure to be good. 

Stopping abruptly, Leorio burst, “You, this, everything! What if something happens to you?” Gaze drifting between them, he added more subdued, “Both of you.” 

Gon softened at the outburst, as did Killua. Of course Mito would be worried, but they had forgotten about Leorio in all this mess. Without him, they would never have gotten so far. Would he blame himself if something happened to them? Gon certainly didn’t want that, and he imagined that Killua wouldn’t either. Before Gon could even get a word in of reassurance, Leorio beat him to the punch. More composed, he said “I know I can’t stop you two. And that’s why I’ve called in a favor.” He waved his cellphone, looking a little defeated. “ At least that way you guys have a safe way to get out of there.” He turned to stalk back down the hallway, apparently having said all he had wanted to. Leorio did not expected two tanned arms to wrap tightly around his midsection. Nor did he expect the slightly delayed and hesitant pale arms that followed. Leorio knew it was almost time to go and so he squeezed both Gon and Killua tight, despite the latter’s resistance. 

“Please come home safe.”

**Author's Note:**

> Playlists/Songs that inspired this piece:
> 
> http://8tracks.com/1000butts/machine-sounds (I highly recommend “Sad Machine” by Porter Robinson. Definitely an Alluka and Killua song)
> 
> Battle Against a True Hero[Undertale Remix][SharaX Remix]
> 
> Cosmos(She Wants Revenge Remix) by t.A.T.u.
> 
> Robot by t.A.T.u.
> 
> {Vocaloid Original] Echo [Gumi English]


End file.
